Weekend breakfast

Eggs and soldiers is one of the best things I have discovered after I moved to Britain. A very soft boiled egg that you dip your toasted soldiers in. Yum! A favourite weekend breakfast.

Finally Friday!

It's Friday again! And after this Friday follows a whole week of half term, and Husband and I are making plans to take little trips, visit National Trust properties, take walks in the country side and go to a couple of concerts. Today I'm wearing two of my favourite necklaces from Prydelig; Bambi and Flying Balloon.

I'm dreaming of flying in a balloon one day...
Wishing you all a very happy weekend! I hope you have nice plans, that the sun is shining and that you treat yourself to an ice cream in the park! I know I will!

Do you have any nice plans for the weekend?

30

Monday was lovely Husband's 30th birthday! I got up really early to make him breakfast in bed, before I had to leave him to go to work. (The brownie in the picture is Lorraine Pascale's Peanut butter brownies, leftovers from Saturday's party. They are really yummy, and worth trying!)

A very nice birthday it was!

Peonies

My favourite flower is in season again. Hooray!

Sløyfekjærleik

These little bows arrived in the mail the other day from lovely Marte. Brighten up my day!

Elderflower love

I love elderflower cordial, and this year, after finding a recipe that made me realise how easy it is, I decided to make my own. It's so simple, but it takes time. There are elderflowers everywhere, but preferably pick them somewhere that's sheltered from busy roads.

This is the recipe I used.

Very pleased with the result! It tastes just like any elderflower cordial I've ever tasted. But better, of course!

Surprise party!

Yesterday was the day of the big surprise party for Husband's 30th. I had invited family, old and new friends to a garden party, baked cakes and arranged everything without Husband having a clue about anything. I have had many sleepless nights this week, planning everything in my head and also fearing that he might figure out what I was planning. Thankfully he didn't, and he was overwhelmed to find the house full of people when he came home. Sadly, this is the only photo from the party, as I was too busy with everything else. But it was a beautiful, sunny day, we had a barbecue in the garden, champagne and Pimm's, followed by tea and cakes and a lot of whiskey. Perfect!

My London Alphabet: A

Afternoon tea. This must be one of the most British traditions there is, with nicely cut sandwiches (without crust), cake, scones, tea and, preferably, if the occasion allows it, champagne. Considering how easy and cheap it is to get afternoon tea most places in Britain, it is surprisingly difficult, and expensive, to find it in London. The lovely Shipp's tearooms in Borough Market had to close down due to problems with their lease, and with them my favourite tearoom disappeared. You will find tea and scones with cream and jam on the menu in a lot of places, but to me afternoon tea is not restricted to simply being a culinary experience. Call me fussy or old fashioned, but afternoon tea should be enjoyed in a room together with people also enjoying afternoon tea, with a table that shows off the lovely homemade cakes, and proper china tea cups and saucers. It should also be a place with a lot of charm, like most of the tearooms in more remote places have. Why is it so difficult to find this in London? I have absolutely no idea, but I have found a few good alternatives:

The Orangery at Kensington Palace is located in Hyde Park, behind Kensington Palace. It's quite a posh place, but afternoon tea is not outrageously expensive. They have a big table full of lovely cakes to choose from, and their chocolate tea is delicious. Champagne tea is recommended! In the summer it is possible to sit outside, which is lovely, but be aware that it gets very busy on sunny days and during the tourist season in summer.

Fortnum and Mason is a big department store located in Piccadilly. Very English and very old fashioned, it is worth going to have a look at their hamper or tea selection. It is quite expensive, but feels very exclusive and very, very English. Lovely biscuits, cakes and scones. And needless to say, their tea is excellent!

The Vintage Emporium and Tea Rooms is a very eccentric place in Shoreditch, just off Brick Lane. Downstairs there is an antique clothing shop, with amazing clothes from the Victorian times up until 1950s. Very expensive, but absolutely worth looking at! The tea room upstairs feels like someone's living room, it is intimate and with lots of pretty things to look at. The tea and coffees are great, as are their cakes. The staff is very friendly, and they often have live music on weekends. Strongly recommended!

Bake-a-boo is a place in West Hampstead that I actually haven't been to yet. I've seen a few things written about it here and there, and I want to go and check it out soon! It looks like a place that offers just the thing I want.

Do you know of any other places to find proper afternoon tea in London?

17th of May

In England 17th of May is unfortunately just another day, which means work as usual. The National Day being one of my favourite festivities, I tried very hard not to think too much about it as I was singing and teaching the kids. I did however wear red, white and blue, and also brought little treats for my colleagues.

Norway- themed tartlets and pavlova.

I couldn't find any of my proper 17th of May ribbons, so I had to make my own ones, one for me and one for Husband.

I hope you all had a lovely celebration!

In the wild country side...

Husband does not have a driving licence. This means that when he has concerts out in the middle of nowhere I have to drive him. I really enjoy it, as it means I get to see different parts of the country, and mostly places I would never think of going to anyway. Yesterday we went to Brockenhurst in Hampshire, just outside Southampton. Whilst Husband was rehearsing, I got to explore the area around, including the village of Lyndhurst, just nearby.

A very pretty little village.

It turns out this is where the real Alice in Wonderland is buried.

I love visiting old graveyards.

Poor 'Alice' doesn't even have her own name on her grave, she's simply Mrs Reginald Hargreaves.

As in most villages in Britain, there were more tearooms than shops. This tiny village with one main street had at least six.

And I couldn't resist the temptation of afternoon tea, of course..

Brockenhurst had more than a few houses that fit my description of a 'dream house'.

And now to the most bizarre thing; in Brockenhurst there were cows, horses, donkeys and Heilan' coos wandering around everywhere. We never got an explanation as to why, but it was very peculiar. All houses had either high fences or cattle grid to protect their gardens, but it didn't stop the animals from munching on the trees and bushes.

They also caused a bit of traffic chaos. This is taken from inside the car.

Hope you all have had wonderful weekends, with smiles, laughter and sunshine!

Catching The Butterfly

Another Rachel Riley favourite, bought in the same sale as the blouse. Pretty butterflies...

A hearty blouse

This is my favourite blouse, from Rachel Riley. She mainly designs children's clothes, but has some really lovely ladies clothes as well. I bought this in a sale, from her shop in Marleybourne high street. Worth visiting if you're in London!

Do fish read newspapers?

We had our first barbecue the other night; rainbow trout wrapped in wet newspaper with thyme and lemon inside. Delicious. And when you unwrap the fish, the skin peels off with the newspaper. Easy! Thank you, Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall.

Jamming

I spent yesterday afternoon making some delicious rhubarb and strawberry jam. Both strawberries and rhubarb were reduced, so it turned out to be quite a cheap affair (not as cheap as picking them from your own garden, but it's the second best option).

Covered up nicely they make pretty little presents, together with some home made bread. Both labels and covers are from Cath Kidston.

Growing tomatoes

We're trying to grow tomato plants. Fingers crossed...

Afternoon bliss

A cup of coffee, Country Living magazine and Lorraine Pascale's yummy brownies, that were made by a very nice friend!

Barbour

On the way to Scotland last week we stopped at the Barbour factory outlet outside Newcastle. A very large outlet, and with amazing prices! Husband and I could easily have spent our whole month's salaries in there. We didn't, but we did come out with a couple of jackets each and a few other bits and bobs.

I got a classic blue quilted jacket

And a really cute yellow waxed rain jacket with pretty buttons. It makes me feel like Annika in Pippi Longstockings.

Although I'm happy the sun is shining, I can't wait for some proper rain so that I can wear my pretty raincoat!

The tables and chocolate bowl have found their place in the living room..

Finally Friday!

It's Finally Friday again! This week has been crazy, and I'm so looking forward to having a couple of days to relax. It's a momentous day today; the election in Scotland went exactly as we hoped, so there is good reason for opening a nice bottle of wine tonight! The next few years will be a very exciting time for the scots..

I'm spending today with the loveliest little baby girl, which I am so looking forward to.

But right now I'm enjoying a cup of coffee and Desert Island Discs on Radio 4, one of my favourite programmes.

Hope the sun is shining, wherever you are, and that you have lovely weekends ahead of you!

Little treasures

We took a trip out to our favourite antique place in Scotland; Steptoes. I've written about it before, but it is worth mentioning again. It is a huge yard and two barns filled with crockery, furniture, glasses, china, and almost anything else you can imagine. I love rummaging through all the things and finding little treasures. This time we found two:

A couple of small tables that fit into one another. Perfect for putting your teacup on!

And this little crystal bowl. Perfect for serving little chocolates.

Bonnie Scotland

I love Scotland. It is so beautiful, and it also reminds me of home. Seaside, beaches, little fishing villages, fresh sea food. Just a little break from life in the big city makes a big difference. A little breath of fresh air.

Houses with amazing views...

Road trip

I really love road trips, there is such a feeling of anticipation and adventure. And the picnic basket is an important part of it. It sat very safely in the back seat the whole journey, providing us with coffee and sandwiches along the way.

Our sandwiches were wrapped in these wonderful things called Wrap-n-Mat. You wrap your sandwich in it, and when you're eating it can be used as a little mat that stops your crumbles getting everywhere. Just wipe if off with a cloth after use, and you can use it again and again. Very eco friendly, and also very cute with the gingham pattern!

You can buy the Wrap-n-Mat here or here .